In the given question, a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer.

Assertion: B. Pocker Bahadur from Bengal made a powerful plea for continuing separate electorates.

Reason: Bahadur believed minorities exist in all lands, they could not be washed away, and they could not be “erased out of existence”.

The Assertion is incorrect but the Reason is correct.

The correct answer is Option 3 - The Assertion is incorrect but the Reason is correct.

Assertion: B. Pocker Bahadur from Bengal made a powerful plea for continuing separate (Incorrect)

Reason: Bahadur believed minorities exist in all lands, they could not be washed away, and they could not be “erased out of existence”. (Correct)

On 27 August 1947, B. Pocker Bahadur from Madras made a powerful plea for continuing separate electorates. Minorities exist in all lands, argued Bahadur; they could not be wished away, they could not be “erased out of existence”. The need was to create a political framework in which minorities could live in harmony with others, and the differences between communities could be minimised. This was possible only if minorites were well represented within the political system, their voices heard, and their views taken into account. Only separate electorates would ensure that Muslims had a meaningful voice in the governance of the country. The needs of Muslims, Bahadur felt, could not be properly understood by non-Muslims; nor could a true representative of Muslims be chosen by people who did not belong to that community.